Russell Brand Arrested And Released Over iPhone Toss Incident

It was a quick trip to the police station for Russell Brand on Thursday afternoon. The British comedian turned himself in at the New Orleans Sheriff’s office in connection with an iPhone tossing incident and he was swiftly booked on two misdemeanor counts of simple criminal damage to property valued at $700 and then sent on his way.

According to TMZ, Brand was sprung from jail in short order after posting $5,000 bond in the case, in which he is accused of grabbing a photographer’s iPhone and tossing it through the window of a downtown law office.

An arrest warrant was issued for Brand on Wednesday and the “Arthur” star made no attempt to hide his part in the phone flap.

Earlier this week he responded to the news by posting on his Rustyrockets Twitter feed, writing, “Since Steve Jobs died I cannot bear to see anyone use an iPhone irreverently, what I did was a tribute to his memory.”

Paparazzo Timothy Jackson filed a police report immediately after the incident that claimed “criminal damages.” Jackson got his phone back and Brand agreed to pay for the window, but police still issued the warrant. TMZ also reported that Brand’s people have already paid for the broken window, handing over $240 to repair it last night.

Brand is the second celeb to run afoul of the law recently after grabbing someone else’s phone. Last month, Chris Brown was accused of “robbery by sudden snatching” in Miami Beach after victim Christal Spann claimed that the singer reached through his car window and grabbed her phone
before driving off.

Though a report was filed in that incident, no arrests were ever made and no warrant was issued in the case.

Brand is in New Orleans filming the untitled new comedy from Academy Award winner Diablo Cody (“Young Adult”), which also stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and “Dancing With the Stars” champ Julianne Hough.